The Fine Cast Carries 'David'

REVIEW

April 6, 1997|By Hal Boedeker Sentinel Television Critic

''Bring me back the foreskins of one hundred dead Philistines.'' King Saul's command indicates that David, TNT's newest miniseries, is not your parents' biblical epic. The drama duly notes that David brings back 200 foreskins.

In the 1950s, Hollywood wowed the public with lofty films like The Robe, The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur. But TNT's biblical films - David is the sixth - play down the grand trappings and concentrate on the moral crises.

The gospel according to TNT can be harsh, violent, unrelenting. Parents might want to shield younger viewers from this Tv-Pg-rated program. And Tnt's scheduling is odd.

The first half of the four-hour miniseries premieres at 8 tonight, and the second half will be seen at 8 p.m. Wednesday. Yes, Wednesday. So much for holding the audience.

Even so, the uneven, flawed David still has much to recommend it, notably several outstanding performances.

The dusty, rocky backdrops - David was filmed in Morocco - heighten the hardness and uncertainty of ancient life. The biblical stories become more identifiable and relevant through the down-to-earth approach.

Stripped of Hollywood glitz, the characters seem truer to the Bible, as well as more human and vulnerable. The miniseries pays equal attention to David's imperfections and his dashing eloquence - Nathaniel Parker fills the role easily.

The first half opens briefly with David, then goes into a long flashback about Saul (Jonathan Pryce, happily freed from those Infiniti commercials). The script traces Saul's rule, his failure to follow God's commands and his increasing jealousy toward David.

Director Robert Markowitz stages an eerie showdown between the confident boy David (Gideon Turner) and the bullying Goliath, who seems like Frankenstein's monster.

A nearly unrecognizable Leonard Nimoy is fiery and demanding as prophet Samuel, and Pryce goes into a long, harrowing slide as Saul. Pryce and Nimoy are the top-billed stars, but they don't appear in the second half.

No problem. The dynamic Parker carries the second part, suffering for his love for the married Bathsheba (Sheryl Lee of Twin Peaks) and worrying about his warring sons Amnon and Absalom.

Like other international productions, David suffers from a grab bag of accents. (These Hebrews do get around.) That problem detracts from Franco Nero's performance as Nathan.

Larry Gross' script moves quickly and smartly, but there are lapses in the dialogue. When a woman seeks justice, David asks: ''What seems to be the problem?'

' The biggest problem might be that David could be the last Tnt biblical drama for a long time. The network has no plans for new ones in the next two years.

Generally, these miniseries have been more intelligent and ambitious than those on the broadcast networks. TV could use more of the old-time religion as it's presented in David.